Substances that activate AMPA receptors, by facilitating glutamatergic synaptic transmission in the brain, have therapeutic potential in the treatment of schizophrenia (Patent Specification WO 97/07799) and cognitive disorders associated with cerebral ageing, for example in Alzheimer's disease (Ito et al., J. Physiol. 1990, 424, 543-553).
A certain number of substances (aniracetam, cyclothiazide, diazoxide) are nowadays used for their AMPA receptor-activating properties.